theres a rainbow in my title at least.

In a city below sea level, where does the rainwater go? with a water table just inches below ground, if not above it, what happens to the runoff of the almost daily downpours? Floods happen. As rainwater chokes the overcrowded sewer system in uptown and the CBD the streets routinely fill with 6 to 10 inches of water, almost instantly. The only reason the city is again able to emerge from this water are the canals that lead out from its interior to Lake Ponchartrain. These canals, with water levels usually above the surrounding elevations, are separated from the rest of the city by levees. The same levees that failed 2 years ago and caused the city to flood, are responsible for keeping the city water-free during normal rains where the excess water from these downpours is often times forced to be pumped up to reach the levels of the canals.
The view that cities are supposed to be the "marriage of heaven, earth and water" is understood here in a most peculiar way. The inability to use water as a reference point when navigating the city, makes the crossing of water at any of the eight or nine opportunities within city limits extremely confusing. Without a reference to the lake or the river, crossing into Gentily or Lakeview, or the Lower Ninth is like entering a new world, completely separate from the context of New Orleans proper. The canals are layed out in order to provide maximum benefit to the inhabitants of the city, while making a minimal interruption. Without ever being seen, the presence of water is felt constantly in this city.
the paranoia of the citizens, their attitude toward water is extremely confusing for a new-comer to the city. For a place, an economy, and a culture that is reliant on the water for its existance (New Orleans is one of the largest sea-ports in the United States, and the last major port before the Mississippi enters the gulf) the people try to keep the water out of sight, and out of mind. Among the ways the city reacts to water, the canal system is most intriguing. These canals strive to reach into the city, through dried out marsh and swamp-land, to maintain a city that is in constant conflict with itself over the importance of its own double edged sword, water. If the city is truly supposed to be the marriage of heaven, and water, then in New Orleans the marriage is arranged. The people and the land relate to water as a necessary evil, and seek to control it on all levels, yet they thoroughly recognize its importance as life sustaining and as the provider of a past, present and future of the city.